Door lock for laundry apparatus

ABSTRACT

A locking mechanism is shown for use on an automatic washing machine having an outer tub which, in conjunction with the support housing, comprises an outer casing of the apparatus. The tub also defines the access opening to an inner rotatable tub and hingedly supports a door for closing the opening. A movable latch on the door cooperates with a stationary catch on the outer tub for maintaining the door closed. The locking mechanism includes a lever arm pivotally mounted adjacent the catch and movable in response to the movement of an armature of a solenoid, remotely mounted within the support housing, via an enclosed flexible wire leading from the armature to the arm. A latch lock is pivotally mounted on the door adjacent the movable latch and is movable into a position preventing the release motion of the latch. The lever arm on the tub and the latch lock on the door have complementary surfaces which engage, when the door is closed and the solenoid is energized, to transfer the motion of the lever arm to the latch lock and place the lock in an obstructing position with the latch. The solenoid armature and lock each have springs restoring them to a release position.

United States atent [1 1 Moore DOOR LOCK FOR LAUNDRY APPARATUS Robert L. Moore, Mansfield, Ohio [73] Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Mar. 24, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 237,621

[75] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-William 1. Price Attorney-F. H. Henson et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A locking mechanism is shown for use on an automatic washing machine having an outer tub which, in conjunction with the support housing, comprises an outer casing of the apparatus. The tub also defines the access opening to an inner rotatable tub and hingedly supports a door for closing the opening. A movable latch on the door cooperates with a stationary catch on the outer tub for maintaining the door closed. The locking mechanism includes a lever arm pivotally mounted adjacent the catch and movable in response to the movement of an armature of a solenoid, remotely mounted within the support housing, via an enclosed flexible wire leading from the armature to the arm. A latch lock is pivotally mounted on the door adjacent the movable latch and is movable into a position preventing the release motion of the latch. The lever arm on the tub and the latch lock on the door have complementary surfaces which engage, when the door is closed and the solenoid is energized, to transfer the motion of the lever arm to the latch lock and place the lock in an obstructing position with the latch. The solenoid armature and lock each have springs restoring them to a release position.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures DOOR LOCK FOR LAUNDRY APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention generally relates to a door locking mechanism'for an automatic washing machine to prevent opening the door during the spin dry operation. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a doorlock uniquely adapted to a washing machine whose stationary outer tub also comprises a portion of the outer cabinet of the machine and defines an access opening to the inner tub and further hingedly supports the door structure.

2. Description of the Prior Art Door locking mechanisms for automatic washing machines are wellknown in'the art and generally include a solenoid actuated member which prevents manually openingthe access door during the spin cycle of the machine. Exemplary ofsuch a door locking mechanism is the one shown and described in US. Pat. No. 3,623,343'having a common assignee; I

In locatingthe door locking apparatus it is generally desirable to place it so as to beunobtrusive and not interfere with the appearance of the machine. Further, it

must be placed'in a generally inaccessible position from which its function cannot be easily defeated.

Determining the placement of the locking mechanism in most automatic washing machines is generally straight forward in that they include a cabinet structure which defines the access opening to the interior and which hingedly supports thedoor. Thus the interior face of the cabinet structure, generally adjacent the opening, provides a logical mounting place which is both unobtrusive and generally inaccessible.

However, in washing machines, such as shown in the present invention, which have the outertub forming a portion of the outer cabinet and defining an access opening and further supporting the door structure, it is impractical to place'the locking mechanism on the interior surface of the outer tub adjacent the opening in that generally there is a minimum of clearance between that surface and the enclosed rotating tub. Further, the

- locking mechanisms for machines of this general construction require generally remotely located electrical components such as solenoid and means to transfer the motion of the solenoid to adjacent the door structure and yet remain unobtrusive and generally inaccessible.

A latching mechanism for positively maintaining the door of an automatic washer closed, in a sealing relationship with the access opening, but which is manually releasable to permit opening the door is also known in the prior art. Such a latching mechanism, similar to that shown in the previously identified patent, generally includes a hook element stationarily mounted adjacent the door and a slidable latch bar, generally mounted in the door, whichengages the hook in the door closed position but which is manually movable to a disengaging position to release the door. And, although it is possible to lock the door in such aclosed position by interfering with the movement of any portion of the door which is required to move for the door to open, such as a hinge, it has been found more reliable and less subject to damage to lock the door by preventing movement of the latch bar to an unlatching position when an opening force is applied. Thus, the motion transfer mechanism of the locking apparatus preferably should terminate in structure movable into a blocking position with the door latching mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides a door locking apparatus particularly adapted for use on a washing machine having an outer tub which comprises the portion of the outer cabinet defining the access opening and hingedly supporting the door. The solenoid for affecting the locking movement is remotely mounted with respect to the latching mechanism and the locking apparatus includes a generally unobtrusive enclosed wire connecting the armature of the solenoid to an arm pivotally mounted adjacent the stationary hook element of the latching mechanism. A locking lever is pivotally mounted on the back face of the door structure and includes a tab portion which can be rotated to a position abutting the side of the slot in the movable latch bar to prevent its movement. The lever arm on the tub and the I lever on the door have opposing projecting finger-like DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view with a portion broken away of the clothes washing machine incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective partial view showing the locking mechanism of the present invention 'with certain components being schematically illustrated;

FIG, 3 is a cross-sectional view of the back face of the door showing the locking mechanism in an unlocked position; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the mechanism in a locked position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The door locking apparatus of the present invention is particularly adapted for use on a well-known tumbler type automatic washing machine such as generally shown and described in US Pat. No. 2,914,934, of common assignee to the present invention and which includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a cabinet 10 housing the support structure, driving mechanism, pumps, hoses, etc., described in the above-identified patent but not shown here, which make up the internal structure of the machine. The cabinet includes a base unit 12 generally enclosing the lower portion of the machine. The upper portion includes a tub wrapper 14; however, the front of the machine is formed by a generally rounded converging front portion 16 of the outer tub 18 which defines an access opening to the interior of the clothes receiving tub. Door structure 20 is hinged at one side to the front portion 16 and the other side pivotally supports the handle member 22 which is utilized to move the door latching structure, supported subadjacent the handle, to an unlatching position in a manner to be more fully described.

For this purpose, reference is made to FIG. 2 which shows the latching mechanism to include a hook element 24 stationarily supported on plate 26 which overlies a spacer plate 27 both of which are mounted on the front portion 16 adjacent the access opening. A latch bar 28 is movably supported on the door between the back of the door and a door liner 30 supported on the door generally coextensive therewith which, when the door is closed, provides sealing engagement with a peripheral gasket 19 forming the access opening. The latch bar 28 is normally biased to the right (as viewed in FIG. 2) by a spring 32 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and defines a generally U-shape with the legs of the U rounded as at 34 to provide a caming surface for engagement with an inward projection 36 of the handle 22. The bight portion 38 of the latch bar is in general alignment with the hook element 24 so as to be engaged thereby (as illustrated in phantom) when the door is in a closed position.

Thus, with the latch bar 28 engaged by the hook element 24, the door is retained closed and, from this, it is evident that pivoting the handle 22, as when it is pulled to open the door, causes projection 36 to push against the latch bar 28 in opposition to the spring 32. Once the latch bar has been moved a sufficient distance to be free of the hook element, further pulling with the handle will fully open the door.

Still referring to FIG. 2, it is seen that locking structure is provided which, when desired, prevents the unlatching movement of the latch bar 28. This structure generally includes a solenoid 40 having an armature 42 which is attached to a slide member 44 through a spring 46. The slide member 44 is received in a guide member 48 to maintain proper orientation and permit only linear motion of the slide. Slide member 44 is generally U-shaped, having a spring 50 attached to one leg and the wire 52 attached to the other, with the wire initially extending parallel to the linear motion of the slide so that it is not subjected to any twisting or bending motion that could lead to a fatigue break.

As is schematically shown in FIG. 1, the aboveidentified solenoid 40, guide member 48 and spring 50 are all attached to support strut 54 housed in the lower casing 12 of the machine.

Wire 52 is the movable element of a control cable which also includes a stationarily mounted flexible casing 54 enclosing the wire. For protection against abuse, appearance. and stability, the casing 54 is also received within a stationarily mounted tube 56 which leads from generally adjacent the slide member 44 to the plates 26 and 27. Tube 56, once it exits the interior of the base 12 through a gap between the base and outer tub 18, is contoured so as to conform to the front of the outer tub and be generally contiguous to the surface adjacent to it. Tube 56 has one end secured to the strut 54 within the base in any desired manner and the other end captured between plates 26 and 27 by having a flared end 58 received under a rib 60 provided in the mounting plate 26.

Spacer plate 27 also pivotally supports a locking arm 62 which, at its free end, extends above the mounting plate 26 and terminates in a forwardly projecting tab member 64 defining a face portion 66. The locking arm 62 has an aperture 68 intermediate its ends for receiving an end of the wire 52 in a manner, such as oppositely directed right angle bends in the wire on opposite sides of the arm, to transfer the motion of the wire to the arm.

Thus, it is seen that energization of the solenoid 40 would draw armature 42 downwardly and, through the spring 46 and slide 44, pull the wire 52 through the enclosing casing 54 and in turn rock arm 62 to the left as viewed in FIG. 2 or to the right as viewed in FIGS. 3 and into the position shown in FIG. 4. Upon deenergization of the solenoid, spring 50 would restore the solenoid armature, wire, and arm. to their initial position.

Still referring primarily to FIG. 2, it is seen that the door liner 30 pivotally supports a locking lever 70 as by a headed rivet 72. The free end of the lever 70 is bent outwardly, away from the door liner, to provide a tab member 74 having a generally planar face 76, (see FIG. 3), and one side of the lever, generally adjacent the secured end, is oppositely bent to form an abutment member 78, which extends into the plane of travel of the latch bar 28. The bight portion 38 of the latch bar 28 is notched, as at 80, so as to receive the abutment member 78 and permit pivotal movement of the lever 70. A torsion spring 82 having one arm engaging the door liner 30 and the other arm engaging the projection 73 on the lever 70 biases the lever in a counterclockwise direction to the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and normally maintains the lever in what can be termed an upward or unobstructing position.

The notch has an irregular shape, which is best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, and defines a general configuration of a T with the area 83 defining the cross member of the T, providing an open space in which abutment member 78 is received when the lever 70 is in its normal up position. The width of the notch at this point is sufficient to permit sliding movement of the latch bar to an unlatched position without interference with the tab 78.

The lower area 84 defining the leg portion of the notch 80 is defined by a contoured side wall 86 generally conforming to the are described by the abutment member 78 whenever lever 70 is rocked from its one position to the other, whereas the oppositely facing wall 88 has a slight taper to facilitate entry of the abutment member 78, into this area when lever 70 is moved to its downward or energized position but provides a generally flat surface facing the abutment member 78 for engagement therewith as shown in FIG. 4. It is this position that prevents the latch bar 28 from being moved to an unlatching position from under the hook element 24.

Thus, it is seen, the motion of the solenoid armature 42 is transmitted to the locking lever 70 on the door by the arm 62. In this manner, the door 20 is prevented from being unlatched and is thereby locked closed by engagement of the rather substantial hook element 24 engaging the latch bar, with this structure being able to withstand considerable opening force without undue stress. Further with both the solenoid and the locking arm independently biased to an unlocking position it is seen that once the solenoid is deenergized, all elements of the locking apparatus are returned to an unlocking position. This construction also permits a generally wide assembly tolerance of the door onto the outer tub 18 in that the mating faces 66, 76 of the cooperating levers are generally large, and, as these faces are not subjected to any of the opening force applied by the user, it is only necessary that they have sufficient faceto-face contact to transmit themovement of the solenoid to the locking lever.

It is seen that the locking structure of the present invention, in addition to its unobtrusive appearance in that the most visible outward sign of it is the short tube 56, leading from the base to the hook element, is also enclosed in such a manner that it cannot be easily defeated by a user but would take some deliberate painstaking effort to render it-inoperable.

As has been done in prior art of door locking mechanisms of the present invention the solenoid 40 is energized through timer controlled contacts (not shown) which generally are closed simultaneously with closing the contacts that energize the spinning operation. Further, the solenoid contacts willgenerally remain closed for a sufficient period of time after the termination of the spin cycle, to allow the inner tub to at least coast to a speed not greater than tumbling speed, before the solenoid is deenergized permitting the door to be opened.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic washing machine having an outer tub generally enclosing an inner clothes tub and defining an access opening thereto, door means hingedly mounted on said outer tub to close said opening and manually releasable latching means for retaining said door in a closed position said latching means including cooperating engaging members, at least one of said members manually movable to a non-engaging position with said movable member mounted on said door means wherein the improvement comprises means for automatically locking said latching means to prevent manual release thereof during selected operations of said automatic washing machine, said locking means including:

a locking lever movably mounted on said door means adjacent said movable member of said latching means for movement between an unobstructing position and a position preventing the movement of I said movable member;

an arm pivotally mounted to said outer tub for movement between a first position and a second position,

means for moving said arm from one position to said other position in response to selected operations of said automatic machine,

said arm and said lever further'defining cooperating surfaces, which, when said door is in said closed position and said arm is moved from said first position to said second position, engage to transfer the motion of said arm to said lever and place said lever in said position preventing movement of said movable member; and

means to restore said arm and said lever to said first position and said unobstructing position respectively upon deenergization of said solenoid.

2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said means for moving said arm to said second position comprises:

a solenoid having an armature and energized through timer controlled contacts, said solenoid generally remotely mounted with respect to said access opening; and

flexible motion transfer means connecting said armature to said arm so that said arm is moved from said first position to said second position whenever said solenoid is energized.

3. Structure according to claim 2 wherein said means to restore said arm and said lever to said first position and said unobstructing position respectively comprise:

a first spring interposed between said-flexible motion 5 transfer means and a stationary member biasing said transfer means in opposition to said energized solenoid to restore said transfer means to a deenergized position; and

a second spring means interposed between said lever and said door means to normally bias said lever to its unobstructing position.

4. Structure according to claim 2 wherein said flexible motion transfers means includes:

a movable slide member;

means connecting one end of said slide member to said armature;

a flexible wire attached to the other end of said member and connected to said arm;

guide means for limiting the motion of said slide to provide linear axial motion to the end of said wire connected thereto;

and tubular means generally enclosing said wire and directing it from generally adjacent said remote solenoid to generally adjacent said access opening including a portion traversing the front of said outer tub.

5. Door lock structure for an automatic laundry apparatus of the type wherein a stationary outer tub defines an opening for access to an inner tub and hingedly supports door structure for closing said opening, a movable latch means also supported on said door structure and cooperating catch means supported on said outer tub to releasably retain said door in said closed position, and means pivotally mounted on said door structure for manually moving said latch from a first position engaging said catch means to a second position free of said catch means to permit opening said door, said lock structure comprising:

a locking arm movably mounted on said outer tub;

means for automatically moving said arm between a first and second position;

a locking lever movably mounted on said door structure adjacent said movable latch means for movement between a first position permitting movement of said latch means and a second position preventing movement of said latch means;

said arm and said lever defining cooperating portions which engage when said door is closed and said locking arm is moved from said first to said second position for transmitting the movement of said locking arm to said locking lever and move it from said first position to said second position whereby said latch is prevented from being moved from its engaging position,

means for restoring said locking arm to said first position, and,

means for restoring said locking lever to said first position.

6. Structure according to claim 5 wherein said means for automatically moving said arm between a first and second position comprises:

a solenoid generally remotely mounted with respect to said door structure and energized through timer controlled contacts,

a flexible wire leading from generally adjacent said solenoid to said arm,

means for connecting said wire to the armature of wire to facilitate axial motion of the wire and to said solenoid, and protect said wire from manual interference with its a tube generally enclosing said flexible wire over a operation.

substantial portion of its length for confining said 

1. In an automatic washing machine having an outer tub generally enclosing an inner clothes tub and defining an access opening thereto, door means hingedly mounted on said outer tub to close said opening and manually releasable latching means for retaining said door in a closed position said latching means including cooperating engaging members, at least one of said members manually movable to a non-engaging position with said movable member mounted on said door means wherein the improvement comprises means for automatically locking said latching means to prevent manual release thereof during selected operations of said automatic washing machine, said locking means including: a locking lever movably mounted on said door means adjacent said movable member of said latching means for movement between an unobstructing position and a position preventing the movement of said movable member; an arm pivotally mounted to said outer tub for movement between a first position and a second position, means for moving said arm from one position to said other position in response to selected operations of said automatic machine, said arm and said lever further defining cooperating surfaces, which, when said door is in said closed position and said arm is moved from said first position to said second position, engage to transfer the motion of said arm to said lever and place said lever in said position preventing movement of said movable member; and means to restore said arm and said lever to said first position and said unobstructing position respectively.
 2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said means for moving said arm to said second position comprises: a solenoid having an armature and energized through timer controlled contacts, said solenoid generally remotely mounted with respect to said access opening; and flexible motion transfer means connecting said armature to said arm so that said arm is moved from said first position to said second position whenever said solenoid is energized.
 3. Structure according to claim 2 wherein said means to restore said arm and said lever to said first position and said unobstructing position respectively comprise: a first spring interposed between said flexible motion transfer means and a stationary member biasing said transfer means in opposition to said energized solenoid to restore said transfer means to a deenergized position; and a second spring means interposed between said lever and said door means to normally bias said lever to its unobstructing position.
 4. Structure according to claim 2 wherein said flexible motion transfers means includes: a movable slide member; means connecting one end of said slide member to said armature; a flexible wire attached to the other end of said slide member and connected to said arm; guide means for limiting the motion of said slide to provide linear axial motion to the end of said wire connected thereto; and tubular means generally enclosing said wire and directing it from generally adjacent said remote solenoid to generally adjacent said access opening including a portion traversing the front of said outer tub.
 5. Door lock structure for an automatic laundry apparatus of the type wherein a stationary outer tub defines an opening for access to an inner tub and hingedly supports door structure for closing said opening, a movable latch means also supported on said door structure and cooperating catch means supported on said outer tub to releasably retain said door in said closed position, and means pivotally mounted on said door structure for manually moving said latch from a first position engaging said catch means to a second position free of said catch means to permit Opening said door, said lock structure comprising: a locking arm movably mounted on said outer tub; means for automatically moving said arm between a first and second position; a locking lever movably mounted on said door structure adjacent said movable latch means for movement between a first position permitting movement of said latch means and a second position preventing movement of said latch means; said arm and said lever defining cooperating portions which engage when said door is closed and said locking arm is moved from said first to said second position for transmitting the movement of said locking arm to said locking lever and move it from said first position to said second position whereby said latch is prevented from being moved from its engaging position, means for restoring said locking arm to said first position, and, means for restoring said locking lever to said first position.
 6. Structure according to claim 5 wherein said means for automatically moving said arm between a first and second position comprises: a solenoid generally remotely mounted with respect to said door structure and energized through timer controlled contacts, a flexible wire leading from generally adjacent said solenoid to said arm, means for connecting said wire to the armature of said solenoid, and a tube generally enclosing said flexible wire over a substantial portion of its length for confining said wire to facilitate axial motion of the wire and to protect said wire from manual interference with its operation. 